McGurk’s Bar Massacre – PSNI Must Disclose Hidden Evidence

Good afternoon,

The ongoing police cover-up of the McGurk’s Bar Massacre was in the news today.

Following a 4-year battle for information, the Information Tribunal has ordered the Chief Constable of Police Service Northern Ireland to hand over evidence in police files that the cops have hidden for 53 years.

I made the original request for information from PSNI in December 2020 under the Freedom of Information Act specifically for the provenance and source of police lies to a high-level Joint Security Committee Meeting soon after the massacre.

At this meeting on 16th December 1971, the then Chief Constable, Graham Shillington, and his head of Special Branch, Assistant Chief Constable David Johnston, presented a police assessment to the Northern Ireland Prime Minister, Brian Faulkner, the General Officer Commanding the British Army, Lt. General Sir Harry Tuzo, and Minister of State, John Taylor (now Baron Kilclooney) that included the lies:

“Circumstantial evidence indicates that this was a premature detonation and two of those killed were known IRA members at least one of whom had been associated with bombing activities. Intelligence indicates that the bomb was destined for use elsewhere in the city.”

I traced this disinformation to a secret agreement between the commander of the British Army in Belfast, Brigadier Frank Kitson and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) within hours of the explosion.

A log in the Commander’s Diary for 39 Brigade proved that then Brigade Commander Kitson informed Brigade staff at 1am on December 5th 1971, just over 4 hours after the bombing:

“RUC have a line that the bomb in the pub was a bomb designed to be used elsewhere, left in the pub to be picked up by the Provisional IRA. Bomb went off and was a mistake. RUC press office have a line on it – NI should deal with them.”

The PSNI refused this request for the provenance and source of this false intelligence. The Information Commissioner Office (ICO), the statutory authority with the jurisdiction to regulate the FOIA regime, upheld this refusal in February 2023.

With the pro bono support of KRW Law and senior and junior counsel from 7 Bedford Row (7BR) Chambers in London, I appealed this decision at Tribunal in December 2023.

Our excellent legal team argued before members of an independent judicial panel why this material should be disclosed to the public.

In a massive legal win for the families, the panel agreed that the PSNI and ICO decision notice was in error of law and ordered the Chief Constable to hand over, redact and withhold specific articles of evidence.

I will be writing about this hard-won release of evidence after the official publication of the judgement by the courts.

The police has fought it all the way and continues to do so today even after the decision was made last February in 2024.

In the News
Irish News: PSNI ordered to disclose withheld McGurk’s Bar massacre info [link]
North Belfast News: PSNI told to disclose disinformation source in McGurk’s Bar massacre files [link]